Monterey >> A broken water main was responsible for the partial closure of downtown Monterey’s Alvarado Street over the weekend.

At around 7 p.m. Saturday, California American Water received word of the leak, according to Cal Am external affairs specialist Luke Gianni.

Gianni said a PVC main broke causing the street to flood between Franklin Street and Bonifacio Place. Cal Am crews went to work on the main break immediately after receiving word of the leak, according to Gianni.

“We had the thing fixed, flushed and pressurized by 3 a.m. Sunday morning,” said Gianni about the broken main located approximately three feet underground. The street was re-opened at 5 a.m.

At this point Gianni said it wasn’t known what caused the pipe to break or how much water was lost.

“With a main break this size we’re still in the process of calculating that,” said Gianni, noting that the pressure of the line and nearby tank levels will be surveyed in determining that.

“We have more than 600 miles of pipe in this system,” said Gianni. “With that much pipe, a main break is going to happen once in a while. It’s just inevitable.”